Reagan is not the president to revere

A fan of revisionist history recently penned a letter, accusing President Obama of being the worse president since Jimmy Carter.

In his desire for a strong commander-in-chief similar to Ronald Reagan, he conveniently omits the following:

U.S. Marines were killed in a bomb attack on their barracks in Beirut. Secretary of Defense Weinberger warned that the Marines were vulnerable to attack. Reagan ignored the warnings, and 241 Marines were slaughtered.

Reagan privatized an illegal war in Nicaragua, risked outsourcing American foreign policy to a foreign entity, the Sultan of Brunei, the head of an Islamic nation, while seeking covert funding to finance that war.

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He sent national security advisor Robert McFarlane on a secret mission to meet the Ayatollah Khomeini, carrying as gifts from the president a chocolate cake and a Bible. He was told to get out of Iran. What happened? The wrong cake?

Reagan assured the public he would never trade arms for hostages nor would he negotiate with terrorists or Iran. Evidence to the contrary forced him to address the nation, admitting it was a lie.

Lawrence Walsh's independent counsel investigation of the Iran Contra scandal resulted in charges and convictions of most of Reagan's inner circle. Most of these convictions were for little things, like setting fire to the Constitution.

When elected president, George H. W. Bush, who was also implicated in the investigation, gave out pardons quicker than you can say, "Read my lips."

President Obama's intelligence and grace under pressure are a breath of fresh air.